As September draws to a close and the evenings get a little darker, I start to looking forward to one of my favourite seasons of food: autumn. The weather calls for comfort food and earthy flavours.

This week I'm sharing two autumnal gateway recipes for autumn; quick breaded mussels for a light supper, and a cosy, simple, savoury sweet potato pie to warm you up.

Breaded mussels

Serves 2 Prep Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

INGREDIENTS

1kg fresh mussels

5 tablespoons of breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley

1 clove of garlic, finely grated

1 tablespoon of finely grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Wedge of lemon, to serve

Baguette or crusty bread, to serve

METHOD

1. Scrub the mussels and pull off any beards you find. Throw away any mussels that are already open.

2. Bring about 150ml of water in a saucepan with a lid to a boil. Add the mussels and steam for 3 to 4 minutes, until they have opened. Remove from the water and throw away any mussels that haven't opened. Remove the top half of the shell and lay the mussels, in their bottom shell, on a baking tray.

3. Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic Parmesan and olive oil together in a bowl. Spoon a teaspoon into each mussel.

Savoury sweet potato pie

Makes 4 small pies

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 45 mins

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 sweet potato

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

Salt

Pepper

1 x sheet of ready-rolled shortcrust pastry

4 teaspoons of crème fraiche

1 handful of roughly grated parmesan

1 tablespoon of roughly chopped walnuts

1 egg, beaten

1. Pre-heat your oven to 190c/170c fan/gas mark 5. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Peel and finely dice sweet potato into small cubes. Add to the pan, along with the leaves from the rosemary sprig, a pinch of salt and pepper, and fry for 15 minutes or until soft.

2. Meanwhile, lay out the pastry on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. If it’s more of a rectangle shape, cut into a large square (discard the leftover bits of pastry). Then cut the pastry into four squares. Put a teaspoon of crème fraiche in the middle of the pastry. Top with a tablespoon of sweet potato mix. Sprinkle with the roughly grated Parmesan.

3. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until pastry is golden and cheese has melted. Serve with a lightly dressed green salad.